Remember When: Twice per day to your door

Mar. 25, 2013

Written by

Joyce Harvey

Eagle-Gazette Correspondent

As the U.S. Postal Service makes cuts, I thought it would be fun to look back at the first free delivery. It was on Jan. 4, 1892, the Daily Eagle reported: “Free mail delivery. It’s now an established fact for Lancaster. At 8 o’clock this morning the recently appointed postmen, Albert Turner, Robert Whiley, William Sears and Jacob Wetzel, donned their uniforms for the first time and began business.”

On July 2, 1890, word was received that President Benjamin Harrison had appointed and the Senate had confirmed Charles B. Martin as Lancaster’s new postmaster. Martin, born in 1860, was the youngest son of John D. Martin (second owner of the house that today is the Georgian Museum). The elder Martin was an influential Republican and businessman. The newspaper stated the appointment was because of his influence.

When interviewed by the Daily Eagle, Charles Martin said: “I feel the honor and responsibility which has been conferred upon me and shall endeavor to the very best of my ability to merit the same.” When asked what changes he proposed in the administration of the office, Martin said he would propose offering Sunday delivery. He also said free delivery was a system that should exist in a town the size of Lancaster, and he would “use my best endeavors to have it established here as soon as possible.”

On July 1, 1891, the Gazette reported: “The work of numbering the residences and designating the streets of the city was begun Monday by W. E. Gravett.” Lancaster had free mail delivery six months later. Because the lamp posts had been removed, the city received permission to attach small street mailboxes to the new electric light poles.

At this time, the post office was in the “old” city hall that stood on the same site as our current city hall. Martin divided his office into two sections so the mail carriers would have work space. Six “good behavior” rules were printed in the paper and included: “To refrain from stopping to converse, loud talking, controversy, profane language, singing, whistling and smoking in the office or on their routes.” Twelve things they were forbidden to do included “to carry letters for delivery in their pockets,” and “to throw away or improperly dispose of mail no matter however trifling or unimportant it may appear to them.”

Martin divided the city into four delivery routes, one for each carrier. The city was covered except for “the southern suburb Utica, the Pioneer addition and some residences on the very remote outskirts.” Martin must have expected the carriers to “step lively” because the Daily Eagle reported: “Two deliveries daily have been arranged for, at 8 o’clock a.m. and 2 o’clock p.m. on all the foregoing named routes, with an additional one for the business portion of Main Street at 5:15 o’clock p.m. No Sunday delivery.”